Looks like you’re really thinking ahead about saving for retirement. That’s great. If you haven’t noticed already, you’ll find out soon that your retirement concerns are different than those of soon-to-be retirees. In general, it’s harder to predict what your life and the world around you will be like so many years down the road.

The good news is that by thinking and planning for retirement now, you can be ready for just about anything―and Allstate can help.

Less Than 15 Years Away

Most people will tell you that at this point you should be full steam ahead on saving for retirement. Sure, that would be good, but sometimes life isn’t ideal. No matter what, there are always ways to plan a retirement that’s happy, secure, and right for you

Allready Retired

Your retirement’s already started? Congratulations! Are you going full speed, or are you sitting back and relaxing? Either way, there’s still a lot you can do to make these years of retirement comfortable and happy.

ANNUITIES

Annuities might be a foreign concept, but once you understand the basics, things get pretty simple. In the same way mutual funds simplify diversifying your investments, annuities simplify getting your money when you actually need it—in retirement. They’re a way to help make sure you can have a steady stream of income, even if the market doesn’t exactly perform the way you want it to.

Annuities work like this. You pay money to an insurance company, and then they invest it. Over time, they’ll pay you back while offering tax advantages. You won’t pay taxes until the earnings on the funds are paid out to you. You choose how much you’ll contribute, when you want to start receiving payments, and how long they need to last.

The upside is that there aren’t many surprises. There’s an income you can count on month after month, and in a good market, some annuities earn positive returns for a higher payout

IRAs

RAs are a type of account designed to help you save for retirement. If you’re not familiar, it might be a little confusing. But once you understand the basic concept, you’ll be able to see how IRAs can really get you on the right path to retirement.

Here’s how they work. Think of an IRA as a basket. Once you have one, you pick investments to put in it—mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, and annuities. Because they’re in the IRA “basket,” they’re protected from some taxes. And that adds up to the potential to earn more money.